Voicegalley Review. Loveboat Reunion is the perfect follow-up to Loveboat Taipei! I love that Wen chose to focus on different characters for this one, but still included all of our favorite characters from the first book. I have several Teen library patrons who are super excited to get their hands on this title and I do not think they will be disappointed!

Sophie Ha and Xavier Yeh have what some would call a tumultuous past.

It’s a classic tale of girl-meets-boy, boy-meets-other-girl, heart-gets-broken, revenge-is-plotted, everything-blows-up. Spectacularly.

At least they’re friends now. They’ve left the drama behind them back in Taipei—at their summer program, Loveboat—forever.

Now fall is here, and it’s time to focus on what really matters. Sophie is determined to be the best student Dartmouth’s ever had. Forget finding the right guy to make her dreams come true—Sophie is going to make her future happen for herself. Xavier, on the other hand, just wants to stay under his overbearing father’s radar, collect his trust fund when he turns eighteen, and concentrate on what makes him happy, for the first time ever.

But the world doesn’t seem to want Sophie and Xavier to succeed. Sophie’s college professor thinks her first major project is “too feminine.” Xavier’s father gives him an ultimatum: finish high school or be cut off from his inheritance.

Then Sophie and Xavier find themselves on a wild, nonstop Loveboat reunion, each trying to resist the chemistry that originally led to them to combust. As they grow closer, they hatch a plan to take control of their own futures. Step one? Break all the rules.

This portion is not in my original review, which is posted on GoodReads:

The robotic voice was easy to listen to after a bit of time. I got used to the cadence and started loving it. What took me OUT of the experience was the whisper of “Harper Collins” in the background all the time. I did not make the author suffer because of the publishers mistakes. Honestly, it was kind of ridiculous how many times it was said.
________________

Abigail Hing Wen knows how to write a book I will always fall in love with. We pick up exactly where we left off in Loveboat, Taipei and I was captivated from the first word YET AGAIN!!! Sophie and Xavier may not have been the MC’s of the first book, but getting their love story really made me the happiest camper. We even got cameos from Ever and Rick!!

We definitely get a lot more back story for Xavier and his family drama, which makes his character really understandable. We now know what makes him tick and why he is the person he was made to be. I really love that we got dual perspective, because I really needed that insight.

This book wasn’t a summer at Loveboat like the first one, but there definitely is some time spent in Taipei for a very exciting reunion (which is where we get out cameos) and I loved every second of returning there. The rich history, the moon festival, the family dynamics… I loved it all!

I desperately need another book. I will say this every time I read a book written by AHW!! She is magic-incarnate! Her hands hold the words that once written, I can NOT get enough of!

I didn’t love the first book in this series, but enjoyed it enough to give this book a chance and see if I would enjoy the world at all. It was entertaining enough, but I just don’t think this author’s writing is for me. There is just something missing from it for me. I do think that there is an audience for this, but it’s just not me. Unfortunately I’m just not a fan.

In the future I think I would still consider picking up another book by this author, but I would go into it with some reluctance. I just don’t want to force myself to get through the writing anymore. I do hope others can enjoy it, but for me Loveboat, Taipei was far better. This just didn’t go the way I thought it woul.d.

As someone who has dyslexia, I was not a fan of how it was portrayed in this book. I know my experience is not like everyone's and there was a cultural expectation to how it was handled in the book but I wouldn't recommend it to many for that reason. I liked the premise, romance, and the first book.

Love this follow up to loveboat, Taipei. I loved getting to see Sophie and xaviers stories unfold as they have so much potential as characters and rightfully so we get to see them both grow as individuals in their own stories.